Wildfires

Bushfire Incidence Increases in Australia

The number of bushfires per week in Australia increased by 40 per cent between 2008 and 2013, according to a new study, but experts say it is too early to link this to climate change.

However the modelling, which blends NASA satellite data on bushfires with a host of other environmental data, could be used by fire authorities in the future to predict whether a fire will ignite in any given area that week, said the study's authors.

NASA data, which gave the latitude, longitude and intensity of fires across the world, showed that in 2013 there were 4,595 fires per week across Australia.

The most seriously affected areas were tropical and subtropical areas in Queensland and Northern New South Wales, he said.

The researchers found there had been a 40 per cent increase in fires from 2008.